Black Manta
}} David Kane, also known as Black Manta, is a mercenary and the son of the late Jesse Kane.[http://ew.com/movies/2018/06/14/aquaman-black-manta/ "Aquaman exclusive: First look at Black Manta" - Entertainment Weekly] He came into conflict with Aquaman after he refused to save his father's life. Upon allying with Orm Marius of Atlantis and receiving experimental Atlantean technology, David combined the Atlantean weaponry with his own equipment to create a battle suit designed to combat his now mortal enemy. Biography Losing his Father David Kane was a pirate like his father, Jesse Kane, and at some point in time, he learned about Aquaman and wanted to encounter him. Their gang took over a submarine, and as they were celebrating their apparent victory, Jesse presented him with a special knife; initially, he scoffed at it, calling it a piece of junk, but when Jesse told him about how it belonged to his grandfather, who fought in World War II as one of the "frogmen" (code-named "Manta"), he immediately changed his mind. Suddenly, they were interrupted by Arthur Curry, known as Aquaman. David proclaimed that he expected to eventually face the Aquaman but was quickly defeated the Atlantean. Aquaman deflected a rocket from Jesse, that caused a torpedo to topple over him, trapping him as the submarine became flooded. David begged Aquaman for help, but was told that they kill innocents and should not expect mercy from the ocean. David tried to save his father, but his father committed suicide by using a hand grenade. David was forced to flee and started to bear a deep grudge against Aquaman. Conflict with Aquaman Sometime after his father's death, David was contacted by King Orm Marius, who paid him for the staged attack his crew launched on Nereus. David demanded that Aquaman should be killed, as he was reponsible for Jesse's death, but Orm shrugged it off and assured David that Aquaman wasn't one of them. Still hellbent on getting revenge on Aquaman, David allied with the Atlantean king. Orm informed David that human weaponry would be useless against Aquaman and provided him with Atlantean weaponry and was given multiple soldiers so he could launch an attack against Aquaman. David took the Atlantean weaponry and merged it with his own diving suit, making it a specialized battle armor to fight Aquaman. In particular, David took a plasma beam cannon and installed it into his helmet, however the helmet was melted during a test firing of the plasma beam. David made the helmet significantly bigger to circumvent the problem. Once the battle suit was completed, he painted it black and dubbed himself "Black Manta" in honor of his late father. Aquaman in Sicily, Italy.]] Black Manta, along with Murk and the Atlantean soldiers, ambushed Aquaman and Mera in Sicily, Italy. Black Manta attacked Aquaman while the soldiers chased Mera. Aquaman identified Black Manta as the same pirate from the submarine before Manta blasted Aquaman with his optical laser beams. Black Manta used his enhanced strength provided by the suit and Atlantean weaponry to overpower Aquaman, but before he could kill him Mera damaged his suit causing it to malfunction. Aquaman then threw a pair of chain stone balls directly into Black Manta's helmet, causing it to explode and throwing David off a cliff to his apparent death. Much later, it is revealed that David survived, though his Black Manta suit was badly damaged from the fight. He was stranded on the ocean until Dr. Stephen Shin, a scientist obsessed with finding Atlantis, saved him. Shin wished for David so show him where to find Atlantis and the technology he had, and David agreed to take him there in exchange for his help to kill Aquaman. Personality At the beginning of his story, David Kane was shown to have a treasured bond with his father, thinking that his victory was their victory. In contrast, he was also cruel, showing no hesitance to drive his knife into the chest of an enemy, but this was to be expected from a pirate. David's personality shifted after he lost someone important to him. The death of his father was the birth of Black Manta. Since that fateful day he's felt alone, but angry. And now his life's all about fulfilling a purpose - the death of Aquaman. There is no other goal in his mind - nothing else that matters. This makes him a dangerous and unpredictable individual, as well as a strong-willed one, as seen when he relentlessly fought Aquaman until his suit couldn't handle it any longer, having took many hits from both his opponent and the environment. Every action is driven by his sheer hatred for the man he believes killed his father. At the cost of devoting his life to revenge, most of his attachment to humanity was discarded, which makes him heartless in nature. Finally is his ruthlessness; Black Manta never holds back, as observed when he continuously attacked Aquaman until a hit was landed, leaving the Atlantean-hybrid on the defense through most of their battle. Powers and Abilities Powers David Kane does not possess any innate powers. Instead, he uses Atlantean technology supplied by Ocean Master to provide him with superhuman strength, endurance, durability, and a variety of weapons. Support Powers *'Superhuman Strength': Black Manta's armor grants him incredible superhuman strength, on par with that of high-born Atlanteans, such as Aquaman. This is shown when he kicked Aquaman off his feet, successfully headbutted him, kicked him out of a house, and - with the help of his jetpack - rammed him off a building. *'Superhuman Reflexes': Black Manta's armor enhances his reflexes, to the point that he is able to keep up with Aquaman's speed while battling the latter. *'Flight': Black Manta's suit incorporated the firing mechanism of the Plasma Cannon onto its back and legs, allowing Manta to fly and hover in mid-air. Defensive Powers *'Superhuman Durability': Black Manta's armor grants him incredible durability, to the point that he can survive tremendous underwater pressures, and is unharmed by many mighty blows from Aquaman. However, its durability still has its limits as Black Manta was seemingly killed after being hurled off a cliff by Aquaman. Offensive Powers *'Optical Blasts:' The helmet of Black Manta's suit fires thick beams of red plasmoid energy from its eyes, similar to Kryptonian heat vision. These beams are so intense, that Aquaman was sent flying an immense distance by them, with his body left slightly blackened. *'Wrist-Mounted Harpoon Gun': Black Manta's suit also boasts Atlantean steel weaponry, such as the spear hook on his left arm, which was sharp enough to pierce Aquaman's flesh. Moreover, the spear hook can also be charged with a strong electric current, which makes it glow red. *'Projectile Blades': Black Manta keeps hidden stilettos situated on and around the armor. One is kept hidden in the right forearm, while another is brandished by Manta like a sword. These blades are of Atlantean steel, which makes them sharp enough to slice right through the body of a high-born Atlantean. Abilities *'Master Martial Artist': Black Manta is extremely skilled in both armed and unarmed combat, as he was able to battle evenly against Aquaman when donning his new armored suit, and gained the upper hand against his high-born Atlantean opponent when he began employing his Atlantean steel blades for an extended period of time before ultimately being tossed down a cliff but still leaving Aquaman grievously wounded. *'Sword Mastery': Black Manta is an extremely skilled swordsman, since even before he donned the armor, Aquaman was only saved from a fatal stab from Manta by his Atlantean durability. After gaining Atlantean steel blades, Black Manta is able to dominate and severely injure Arthur, although he was ultimately overpowered by the Atlantean. *'Genius-Level Intellect': Black Manta is extremely intelligent, mostly regarding his pirating, engineering, and leadership skills. *'Expert Engineer:' Black Manta has an innate knack for understanding the most complicated technological function of any mechanism. Hence, his being able to take apart, modify and reassemble his Atlantean wet-suit into the powered armor he now adorns, turning the Plasma Gun the suit came with into a helmet-based heat ray, and a jet-booster system. *'Expert Pirate:' Having been trained by his father Jesse Kain, Black Manta is an immensely skilled pirate, to the point that Orm hired him to stage an attack from the surface dwellers upon the Council of Kings in Atlantis. Indeed, Manta and his father would have successfully overtaken the Russian submarine had Aquaman not gotten involved. *'Expert Leader:' Black Manta is a highly skilled leader, being the new leader of his father's pirate crew, and being entrusted by Orm to lead a squad of Men-of-War Atlantean soldiers. Equipment .]] *'Black Manta suit:' David Kane, with the help of Ocean Master, created a specialized armored suit that allows him to operate underwater. The armored suit is outfitted with Atlantean technology, giving it energy projection abilities, as well as facilitating use against immense pressures in deep ocean waters. The suit possesses a distinctive manta-shaped helmet with two large eyes which fire optic blasts (powerful enough to injure Atlanteans), and is connected to an oxygen system that allows Manta to breathe underwater indefinitely. The suit also has a rocket jetpack system that enables him to fly, as well as an Atlantean steel blade within a forearm. Relationships Family *Jesse Kane † - father *"Manta" - grandfather Allies *Orm/Ocean Master *Men-of-War **Murk *Dr. Stephen Shin Enemies *Arthur Curry/Aquaman *Mera Trivia *In the DC Comics universe, originally Black Manta began as an autistic young boy who grew to hate the sea and Aquaman, (who he saw as its representative). The boy was determined to become its master and took the name Black Manta after being tortured and experimented on in an mental institution. He later murders Aquaman and Mera's child; Arthur Curry, Jr. In the New 52, David Hyde was a mercenary who was contacted by Stephen Shin to procure a sample of Arthur Curry's blood to prove that he was an Atlantean. However, Thomas Curry came to Arthur's defense which resulted in his fatal heart attack. On the day of Thomas Curry's funeral, Aquaman stormed the boat belonging to the Hyde's and murdered David's father, assuming that he was the killer. Swearing revenge, Hyde created a specialized suit that allowed him to survive underwater to combat his foe and dubbed himself Black Manta. David Hyde was later revealed to be the father of Jackson Hyde, the Titan known as Aqualad. Gallery Black Manta (no helmet).png David Kane.png|David Kane working on Atlantean technology. Promotional images Aquaman - Black Manta character poster.jpg References External links * * Category:Humans Category:Mercenaries Category:Villains Category:Aquaman characters